C a u s e d – M o t i o n C o n s t r u c t i o n
The Caused-Motion Construction is defined structurally as
Subject - Predicate (nonstative verb) - Object - Obl (directional phrase).
The semantics of the construction is argued to involve the causer that directly
causes the theme to move along a path designated by the directional phrase:
Subject (Cause) - Predicate (Cause-Move) - Object (Theme) - Obl (Goal), e.g.:
They laughed the poor guy out of the room. They sprayed the paint onto the wall.
The construction is associated with a category of related senses:
A. X causes Y to move Z:
Frank pushed it into the box.
B. X causes Y to move Z (verbs encode a communicative act):
Sam asked (ordered, invited, urged) him into the room.
C. X enables Y to move Z (verbs encode the removal of the barrier):
Sam let (allowed, freed, released) him into the room.
D. X prevents Y from moving Z (is understood as imposition of the barrier,
causing the patient to stay in a location despite its inherent tendency to move):
Harry locked Joe into the bathroom. He kept her at arm’s length.
D. X helps Y to move Z (involves ongoing assistance to move in a certain
direction):
Sam helped (assisted, guided, showed) him into the living room.
The central sense of the construction is A sense. It involves manipulative
causation and actual movement, which has been suggested as the most basic
causative situation.
Semantic constraints are proposed to explain idiosyncrasy in pairs with
relative verbs, e.g.: Pat coaxed him into the room. – sounds correct, while Pat
encouraged him into the room. – does not.
Constraint on the Causer: the causer argument can be an agent or a natural
force, e.g.: Chris pushed the piano up the stairs.
The wind blew the ship off the course.
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